2 Chicago men accused of plotting attacks

David Coleman Headley, 49, and Tahawwur Hussain Rana, 48, were
charged in separate complaints filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court
in Chicago.

Prosecutors said Headley traveled to Denmark to identify
potential targets for a terrorist attack and that Rana helped
arrange Headley's travel.

Headley is charged with conspiracy to commit terrorist acts
involving murder and maiming outside the United States. He could be
sentenced to life in prison if convicted. He was arrested Oct. 3 at
O'Hare International Airport as he boarded a flight to
Philadelphia, the first leg of a trip to Pakistan.

Headley and Rana are each charged with conspiracy to provide
material support to a foreign terrorism conspiracy, which carries a
maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. Rana was arrested Oct. 18
in his home.

Prosecutors said Headley, a U.S. citizen who changed his name
from Daood Gilani in 2006, identified and conducted surveillance of
potential targets of a terrorist attack in Denmark on two separate
trips to that country in January and June. They said Headley
reported and attempted to report on his efforts to individuals with
ties to terrorism overseas, including at least one with links to
al-Qaida.

U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald said in a statement that
"the public should be assured that there was no imminent danger in
the Chicago area."

"However, law enforcement has a duty to be vigilant to guard
against not just those who would carry out attacks here on our soil
but those who plot on our soil to help carry out violent attacks
overseas," Fitzgerald said.

The Jylands-Posten newspaper published twelve cartoons depicting
the prophet Mohammed in 2005, triggering widespread protests
throughout the Islamic world and threats from extremist groups.

One cartoon showed Mohammed wearing a bomb-shaped turban. Any
depiction of the prophet, even a favorable one, is frowned on by
Islamic law as likely to lead to idolatry.